Why blame a single player after every debacle?

It may sound cliche, but there is no I in team. 

But when Bangladesh lost the 3rd ODI against Afghanistan, two players in particular - Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad - were targetted by fans and the media. 

The Bangladesh ODI captain has been scrutinised over his batting technique (since now everyone is an expert on batting techniques) and the T20I captain was blamed for not showing enough intent to score quick runs at the death.

Now both cases can be backed up with stats but at the same time, a team does not lose only because two players failed; a team loses when most players fail. 

The side has issues aplenty 

People could talk about the batting form of ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan since the 2019 World Cup, which has been in a downward spiral since. 

The 34-year-old has also been less effective with his bowling too, and the Afghanistan batters have attacked him throughout the series.

No one seems to be bothered that Shakib is past his peak.

Now if we look at Mushfiqur Rahim, he's not had a horrible series with the bat, but it's 2022 and there are way better options behind the stumps than him.

Even in the last match, Mushfiq dropped a regulation catch in the 23rd over and almost missed a stumping, and these things have cost Bangladesh crucial games in the past. 

There could be talk of him being replaced by the more capable Liton Das with the gloves but so far it hasn't happened. 

Ahead of the ODI series, there were questions about the no. 5 spot in the batting order and who would play there and Yasir Ali got that opportunity. 

However, the right-handed batter made scores of 1 and 0 in the two games he played in and especially in the third ODI, had a big opportunity to stamp his mark on the side. 

He should be given the nod ahead of the younger Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who has been the other candidate for that position, but he is on thin ice.

Afif Hossain, who played a brilliant innings to help Bangladesh win the first ODI in a remarkable comeback has shown signs of his talent but one feels he throws his wicket away far too much.

Add to that, he isn't a power-hitter so a spot at no. 7 seems wasted on him and perhaps he'd be a better player at no. 5. 

So overall, as we can see, there are problems aplenty for the Bangladesh ODI team's unit and it's not just one or two players but so far one two have been scapegoated. 

Fast-forwarding younger players can ruin them for good

We've seen this happen all too often before and there are recent examples of it too.

For instance, Tamim was and still is considered too slow for the T20I format.

He obliged to what the fans said and took himself out of the T20I team.

It resulted in the top order having less stability and Bangladesh having been all-out in less than 10 overs in a T20I against New Zealand.

Naim Sheikh has been the opener in the side for the most part and his batting has been considered too slow and he's been no upgrade on Tamim. 

Soumya Sarkar and Liton have both opened but none have been consistent and to date, Bangladesh don't have a stable opening combo in T20I cricket.  

One can argue that this decision has been detrimental to the careers of Naim, Soumya and Liton and has been a step back for the team. 

Even in a team like England, their former captain and opener, Alastair Cook was almost forced to retire in 2018 due to media pressure and since then, they have not found a replacement for him and their top-order has suffered. 

No one is denying that some of the players in the Bangladesh team are nearing the end of their careers.

But there are no better replacements in certain places and playing a younger player in that role is more likely to be detrimental to their career, as has been the case with Naim Sheikh. 

There are questions about the team environment and team spirit too where it's clear that the senior players and the board don't always see eye-to-eye. 

The board president is always taking credit when the team does well but blaming the players when the team doesn't. 

This sort of environment may not be the best one for a young cricketer trying to make his mark on the international stage, especially a year ahead of the World Cup, and if he has to replace a more senior and established player in the national team. 

After almost every series, there is a scapegoat.

We saw it previously happen with Liton with his struggles in the T20I side, and we saw it with Mashrafe when the team didn't reach the 2019 World Cup semifinal, and we saw it with Mushfiq as well after the T20 World Cup.

And there are plenty more examples. 

Overall, it's easy to scapegoat one or two players in a team game, but the consequences of fans and media doing it may harm the team, and there are recent examples that suggest so.

Be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it, and it may not be what you thought.